Everyone travels for different reasons, and if one of yours is to be social and have a good time, add Bucharest to your upcoming travel plans! The capital city of Romania is quickly rising in popularity, and part of it has to do with its energetic, versatile social scene!
In fact, Bucharest is notorious for bachelor and bachelorette parties because of its lively nightlife, and cheap prices! The locals also add a lot to Bucharest’s poppin’ social scene with their devoted love for their country, and desire to show visitors the best time possible! AKA, expect to always get peer pressured into another glass of blue wine, and going to another bar after the one you’re currently at!
Partying isn’t the only thing there is to do in Bucharest though! Aside from the many awesome restaurants and bars, there’s also a ton of landmarks that make for some exceptional conversation pieces! Nearby you can also find the infamous “Dracula’s Castle”, as well as many other fairytale-like landscapes s as well!
So take a look at all the awesome social activities and places that I experienced in Bucharest, and start planning your epic trip to Romania!
This might sound a little funny, but Old Town in Bucharest is actually quite new! Its buildings are mostly the originals, but have been restored, along with the cobblestone streets. This makes for that wonderfully nostalgic feeling and the convenience of modern comfort.
There’s so many amazing restaurants and bars to choose from in Old Town, that you really need to just wander and browse menus to choose one! The same thing goes for bars and landmarks! But out of the places I went to, my favorites were:
Rooftop Bars are popular in Old Town, and you can find them at the top of many restaurant and hotel buildings. Little Bucharest Hostel also has an excellent rooftop bar that offers stunning views of the city, and a vibrant social setting! Be sure to try a glass of the famous Romanian blue wine!
City Tours are a great way to be social, and get a scope of Bucharest’s best sites and history! One of my favorite ones was the Garlic Food Tour, which basically consisted of me getting to try a bunch of delicious food! If you know a little bit of Romania’s history, you’ll know that it’s where the story of Dracula comes from, and what keeps vampires away? Garlic! Which is why you must do this food tour! You can do this tour with My Secret Romania; be sure to ask for Gabriela Soloman!
Other tours that were interesting were the Graffiti Tour, the Beautiful Decay Tour, and the Rhoma (gypsy) Tour. All tours are run by young, social, groups of locals , who can also give you tons of recommendations for the best places to go out after the tour. They might even join you!
Secret Garden Bars are also a (really cool) thing in Bucharest, if you can find them! They tend to be behind big, old buildings, which secludes them from the busy streets and sounds of the bustling city. One that’s not too far from Old Town is called Eden, and you can even find it on Google maps!
Street Dance Parties are totally a thing in Old Town, thanks actually to an American who started a Friday flash mob outside of Little Bucharest Hostel. Even if you don’t want to dance (everyone does though), you can watch the incredible sight from the balconies of Little Bucharest Hostel, and revel at how everyone is magically in sync!
Don’t be shy if you don’t know the dance moves; they’re easy to learn, and fun to try!
Instagram Umbrella Street is a name that I made up, but if you look at the photo, you’ll understand why. There’s a good chance you’ve seen a photo of this street on Instagram, and an even bigger chance that you’ll want to go there for a photo of your own.
I asked a local how to get there since there isn’t really a pin for it on a map, and it was super easy to find. Just search on your maps app for “Colosseum Pizza Cafe Ristorante”, or “Teatrul Constantin Tanase”.
The Parliament Palace is something you won’t be able to miss regardless of if you want to see it or not because of how big it is. In fact, it’s the biggest parliament building in the world! There’s a couple of other cool looking buildings around it as well, so be sure to take a stroll!
The Largest Iron & Corkscrew Collection in the World, yes, that’s a real thing. You might think seeing the world’s largest collection of irons wouldn’t be interesting, but trust me, it is. It’ll make you re-think (and judge) every iron you ever see from then on, because the old ones used to be super fancy! Some even had real gold handles, and most had some sort of animal at the front where the steam would blow out of its mouth!
Grab some wine served in the tasting room downstairs, or the rooftop bar, and make this place a social experience with a TON of conversation starters!
If you have time, definitely try to rent a car (or take a tour) to some of the incredible sites outside of Bucharest. The scenery changes almost as soon as you leave the city; from buildings to lush green mountains! It’s almost as if you’ve traveled to an entirely different country!
Aside from the refreshing change in scenery, you’ll also find some whimsical castles! Well, you’ll find Bran Castle…AKA “Dracula’s Castle”, and that’s a bit more grim than whimsical if you know the story behind it.
If you don’t know the story already, let’s just say that the story of Dracula was created based on a real life person nicknamed Ivan the Impaler. Ivan liked to scare off his enemies by impaling people from groin to neck, and posting them up outside of the castle.
Bran Castle is about a 2 hour drive from Bucharest, and can be done in one day. Bring cash (local currency) to pay for parking and entry fees! You can get a really good photo from the park around the base of the castle, and now that you know the story behind it, it’ll make for a GREAT conversation piece!
Peles Castle is another awesome stop, and it’s on the way to Bran Castle. Look for a little town called Sinaia, then follow the signs for Peles Castle. Be sure to park at the hotel/restaurant that you see before the narrow road, because there’s no parking at the actual castle!
Depending on the level of social you want to get on, I have a few recommendations for places to stay! You can stay in the Old Town which is the most social area, or just a bit outside of it for a mellower, quieter stay!
Radisson Blu was amazing to stay at if you want something a little bit more upscale, or are hoping to get some work done (like me) during your visit. The hotel is massive and gorgeous, and comes complete with mouth-watering pool, and huge indoor-outdoor hot pool!
There’s a pool bar and a lobby bar that are always busy with people socializing and mingling, as well as an Executive Lounge for those who opt for the Executive Suite. Breakfast, happy hour food, and drinks are included in the Executive Lounge…just saying!
At the lobby bar they also have a really unique feature, which is the incorporation of mixology drinks! They’ve handcrafted a specialty cocktail for each of the twelve zodiac signs, so you can try the one that corresponds to yours, or test out someone else’s!
Little Bucharest Hostel is a quirky, popular hostel right smack in the middle of Old Town. If you want to meet a ton of locals and other travelers, definitely stay at Little Bucharest! I had the pleasure of meeting the awesome couple that runs it, and they are a large majority of why we all had so much fun in Bucharest!
I also really like their concept behind their multiple hostels, which is that hostels don’t have to just be a crappy budget accommodation. Instead they can be unique, affordable, well-located accommodations, that also encourage a social setting and cultural experience.
Podstel Bucharest hostel is another unique, and wickedly fun accommodation, which is situated a little bit outside of the main Old Town area. What makes it awesome aside from the friendly staff, is a large outdoor area complete with a beanbag lounge, and stage for live music!
As with any country, there are local specialties that you absolutely MUST try! In Romania, they have some truly unique ones, like garlic and blue wine (not together though…ew)!
Anything and everything made with garlic. Garlic not only has a huge cultural importance in Romania, but it also has many health benefits (and not just warding away vampires). Plus, let’s be serious, garlic is REALLY good! From garlic soup to whole garlic with potatoes, grab some gum and let your taste buds run wild.
A popular staple of Romania, and an absolute must try while you’re in Bucharest, is blue wine. Supposedly there’s no added dyes in it (although the extremely bright color might make you question that), and it tastes just like a regular semi-dry white wine except…it’s blue. The blue color comes from a certain type of grape that has the blueish hue in its skin, and in my opinion it adds a bit more of a fruity taste to the wine. It’s also super cheap, so you’ll see a lot of people drinking it!
My trip to Bucharest was on behalf of an event called Experience Bucharest, which brought in some of the top bloggers and influencers in the World. Their goal was to show what an incredible, and fun destination Bucharest is, and I have to admit, they did a really good job at it!
I spoke on a panel at the event along with Adventurous Kate, Life of Jord, Hopscotch The Globe, The Planet D, Traveling Greek, about travel industry trends, and how to successfully market Bucharest as a destination for travelers to visit. If you’re a blogger interested in attending the event, definitely sign up for next year’s bigger, better Experience Bucharest!
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